Lincoln Tech is a group of for-profit tertiary level vocational institutions based out of West Orange, New Jersey. Each campus is owned and operated by Lincoln Educational Services Corporation (NASDAQ:Â LINC), a provider of career-oriented post-secondary education.
As of June 30, 2016, Lincoln had 11,417 students enrolled at 30 campuses; 7,041 students enrolled at 13 campuses included in continuing operations. After its most recent downsizing, the company will consist of 14 campuses in 11 states in the United States.
Accreditation
Lincoln schools are accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS), Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC), and New England Association of Schools and Colleges â€" Commission on Institutions of Higher Education (NEASC)
In 2016, the US Department of Education stripped ACICS of its accreditation powers. The following schools were ACICS accredited: Brockton, Lowell, and Somerville, MA; Edison, Moorestown, and Paramus, NJ; Henderson and Las Vegas, NV; Lincoln, RI; Marietta, GA; Center City-Philadelphia, and Northeast Philadelphia, PA; and West Palm Beach, FL.
History
The founder and first President of Lincoln was J. Warren Davies. The first Lincoln Technical Institute was established in 1946 in Newark, New Jersey, to serve World War II veterans returning from overseas. At Lincoln, these veterans found training programs to help them learn career-specific skills, and transition into civilian careers in installation and servicing of air conditioning and refrigeration equipment. Automotive courses were added in 1948. Lincoln established traveling schools to offer NAPA-certified training, which certified over 11,000 mechanics between 1955 and 1965.
In 1969, Ryder acquired Lincoln Technical Institute and two other technical schools with campuses in Illinois, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. By 1977, Lincoln Technical Institute had ten campuses in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington, DC. Lincoln Technical Institute acquired court reporting school The Cittone Institute and its three campuses in 1994, leading the group to have 14 campuses by the school's 50th anniversary in 1996.
Stonington Partners and Hart Capital purchased Lincoln Technical Institute in 2000. The school continued expanding, acquiring Denver Automotive and Diesel College and Computer-Ed Business Institutes in 2001, Lincoln College of Technology in Nashville (previously the Nashville Auto-Diesel College) in 2003, and the Southwestern College of Business and New England Technical Institute in 2004.
Lincoln Educational Services Corporation made its initial public stock offering in 2005, trading on the NASDAQ under the symbol LINC. California Regent Richard C. Blum (Dianne Feinstein's husband) was a key investor, with $24,000,000 in stock.
Also in 2005, the group acquired the Euphoria Institute of Beauty Arts and Sciences. Further acquisitions include the Harrison Career Institute in 2007, Briarwood College in December 2008 and the Baran Institute of Technology schools (Baran Institute of Technology, Connecticut Culinary Institute, Americare School of Nursing, Engine City Technical Institute, and Clemens College) in 2009. Lincoln completed the purchase of Florida Medical Training Institute in 2012.
From 2013 to 2014, Lincoln planned to cease operations at four schools in Ohio, one school in Kentucky and five training sites in Florida.
In 2014, The New York Times reported that 50% of all Lincoln schools failed proposed gainful employment regulations
In December 2015, Lincoln developed plans to close its health care and other professions segment, "a strategic shift in business strategy."
As of 2016, several Lincoln schools are under heightened cash monitoring by the US Department of Education.
Recruiting
Lincoln Education employs approximately 240 recruiters who meet students at high schools, in customers' home or during a campus visit. The school also has a call center for recruiting.
Lawsuits, investigations, and campus closings
Lincoln Educational Services faced an investor lawsuit on behalf of those who purchased company stock between March 3, 2010, and August 5, 2010. The plaintiffs alleged that Lincoln Educational Services issued a series of materially false and misleading statements related to its business and operations in violation of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The case was dismissed by the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey in September 2011.
In 2013, USA Today, based on data from 2009â€"10, called one of the company's 31 campuses a "Red Flag school", one which has "a higher loan default rate than graduation rate."
The company announced the closing of five campuses in 2013 after new federal regulations prevented students without high school diplomas from receiving federal tuition assistance. The closures included campuses in Dayton, Ohio; Toledo, Ohio; Cleveland, Ohio; Florence, Kentucky; and two in Cincinnati, Ohio. A sixth campus closed in Hamden, Connecticut, in April 2014, and a seventh at the Melbourne, Florida, campus of Florida Medical Training Institute closed in December 2014.
In October 2014, Massachusetts state attorney general Martha Coakley announced an investigation into Lincoln's for-profit schools in the state of Massachusetts.
In 2015, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts filed a complaint against the corporation alleging violations of the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act from 2010 to 2013. Lincoln Education paid $850,000 to the Attorney General and agreed to forgive $165,000 of student debt. The State of Maryland's Attorney General also issued an administrative subpoena requesting detailed information about its Columbia, Maryland campus.
In 2015, Lincoln Educational Services agreed to repay approximately $1 million to graduates of its criminal justice program in Somerville and Lowell, Massachusetts. The Massachusetts' Attorney General found that students were unable to find work in their fields of study, and the company included unrelated jobs in its placement data. According to the Boston Globe, "The school also allegedly told recruiters to 'establish unhappiness, create urgency,' and 'bring out the pain' to pressure prospective students to attend the school instead of military or community college. The for-profit school instructed recruiters to contact students at least seven times within the first three days to convince them to enroll."
In 2015, Lincoln Education began phasing out of all of its 18 healthcare campuses.
Campuses
Lincoln Educational Services operates through the following brands: Lincoln Technical Institute, Lincoln College of Technology, Euphoria Institute of Beauty Arts and Sciences, Lincoln Culinary Institute, and Lincoln College of New England. In 2015, Lincoln developed a plan to close 18 healthcare campuses.
- Lincoln Technical Institute:
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- New Britain, Connecticut
- Shelton, Connecticut
- Columbia, Maryland
- Brockton, Massachusetts
- Lowell, Massachusetts
- Somerville, Massachusetts
- Edison, New Jersey
- Mahwah, New Jersey
- Paramus, New Jersey
- South Plainfield, New Jersey
- Union, New Jersey
- Queens, New York City, New York
- Allentown, Pennsylvania
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (3 locations)
- Lincoln, Rhode Island
- Lincoln College of Technology:
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- East Windsor, Connecticut
- Denver, Colorado
- West Palm Beach, Florida
- Marietta, Georgia
- Melrose Park, Illinois
- Indianapolis, Indiana
- Grand Prairie, Texas
- Nashville, Tennessee (formerly Nashville Auto Diesel College)
- Lincoln College of New England: Southington, Connecticut
- Lincoln Culinary Institute:
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- Hartford, Connecticut (closed 2016)
- Shelton, Connecticut
- West Palm Beach, Florida
- Columbia, Maryland
- Euphoria Institute of Beauty Arts and Sciences:
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- West Palm Beach, Florida
- Henderson, Nevada
- Las Vegas, Nevada
- Lincoln, Rhode Island
Notable alumni
- Manny Santos (born 1955, Class of 1977), President of the Mechanical Contractors Association of New Jersey
Financial issues
Lincoln has lost more than $40 million in goodwill since 2013. It has also reduced its property, plant and equipment more than $60 million during the same period. The company has operated at net losses for three of the last four quarters.
References
External links
- Official website